Interesting News from the Efficiency Review. No, Really.

First of all, for those of you who average 47 seconds per visit to The Blog: you may want to stick around and give this post a full read. We’re breaking some news on The Blog today, and it involves your tax dollars.

Turns out our Office of Management just saved us a little money. Here was the official summary:

“In response to the Management Action Directive, Software Licenses, DHS’ Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) consolidated all component requirements for Microsoft software licensing and maintenance into a single enterprise-wide
procurement…”

The Management Action Directive (try not to think too hard about the acronym) ordered that all Microsoft software contracts for our offices and components (ICE, CBP, USCIS, etc.) be merged into one contract for the entire department. Previously, each of the components negotiated separate contracts, so this solution saves - and I think this is the technical term - a BOATLOAD of money. The Coast Guard can check my math on that.

In layman’s terms, it’s $87 million dollars. Which is a lot, whether you’re a layman or otherwise.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Software Licensing: $82M
• 24 X 7 Problem Resolution Support: $5.1M
• Training Vouchers: $315K
• Packaged Services: $90K
• Estimated Total Savings/Cost Avoidance: $87.5M

Where then, you might you ask, does this savings end up? The answer is simple: mission-critical activities. We’ll take the savings from the elimination of printed reports, periodical subscriptions, conferences and travel, and invest that money in programs that strengthen our borders, secure air travel, and provide cutting edge technology to improve our operational efforts. These are programs worthy of your tax dollars. This is smart spending.

We’ll keep you up-to-date on the Efficiency Review, because saving money can actually be interesting.

Every Dollar

An admission: Efficiency isn’t the juiciest topic to blog about. It’s not easy to write about a dollar saved here, and a dollar saved there, and then expect to keep you interested and awake until the end of the post. I imagine most people hear the words “government spending” and begin to roll their eyes, envisioning boxes of over-priced hammers and rooms of underutilized computers.

When Secretary Napolitano was appointed, she made it her mission to do a top-down review of how this department spends your money. As the Governor of Arizona, she did something similar, saving Arizona almost $1 billion. And that’s in a state where the annual budget is about $10 billion.

So, from existing government contracts, to software, to office space, we are taking a detailed look at every dollar we use at the department. The goal is to engage in smart spending. We began the Efficiency Review less than three months ago, and have already identified savings throughout the department. Here’s a snapshot of the new initiatives we hear about each week:

• TSA: $433,000 in software savings


• USCG: $1.7 million in contract consolidation savings


• USCIS: $165,000 in equipment savings


• CBP will achieve a 25 percent reduction in energy costs at their new Border Patrol Sector Station in El Paso using "green" construction methods.


• ICE: $61,000 in savings by utilizing government vehicles instead of private rentals and more than $40,000 annually by eliminating subscriptions to publications available on-line.

The Secretary just delivered a message to department employees, thanking them for their work and continued commitment in making this a leaner, more efficient, and thereby effective department. We’ll bring you more updates on the review as it happens.